Ericsson Mobility Report

The total number of mobile subscriptions in Q3 2014 was around 6.9 billion. This included the addition of 110 million new subscriptions during Q3. Global mobile subscriptions are growing by 1.6 percent quarter-on-quarter and 6 percent year-on-year. Global mobile penetration reached 95 percent in Q3 2014.

Around the world, smartphone uptake has continued at a strong pace. These devices accounted for 65–70 percent of all mobile phones sold in Q3 2014, compared to around 55 percent during Q3 2013. And it doesn’t show any sign of slowing down. Of all mobile phone subscriptions today, around 37 percent are associated with smartphones, leaving considerable room for further uptake. Global mobile broadband subscriptions are growing by around 30 percent year-on-year and reached 2.5 billion in Q3 2014. LTE continues to grow strongly and has reached 350 million subscriptions, with around 50 million additions in Q3 2014. WCDMA/HSPA had the highest net additions during the quarter at around 85 million. Almost all of these 3G/4G subscriptions have access to GSM/EDGE as a fallback. The number of GSM/EDGE-only subscriptions declined by 10 million (0.2 percent).